Alaska

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Thursday August 25, 2011
Hyder, Alaska
Yeah that’s right; Alaska. Bet no one figured I would be in Alaska but I am.

I woke up late and then fell back asleep and didn’t wake up until 12 noon; oops. That is what happens when you don’t sleep the night before. I actually got up at 10 am for my morning pee. I heard a noise in the trees. I knew it was a bear. I watched silently waiting for him to appear and maybe come into camp. All I saw was 2 very quick brown flashes and the brown was a lot higher (or taller) than I expected. I can’t say for fact but if I had to bet money I would say a Grizzly Bear walked about 100 ft. from my camp. Nothing touched my bear container last night. That was a total shock; I thought with seeing 5 bears in less than an hour last night I was sure to have some guests last night. As of yet I have not seen a Grizzly Bear in the wild.

This side trip section of the highway is very nice. This part of the highway is known as a glacier highway because of all the visible glaciers off the highway. There was only 50 km’s left to Stewart and Hyder. Most of the highway is all downhill so the ride went quick. This may make for a quick riding getting there but it will make for a very hard ride getting back to the main highway. There used to be a ferry to Prince Rupert but that is no longer. If I could/can figure a way to get by Prince Rupert by boat I will but I have a feeling I have a hard ride to look forward to in a few days.

I only saw 2 bears today but a lot of mountain. So lucky the weather was nice today. I was not really pleased with my photos today. The way the sun was shining the photos did not turn out as well as I liked. So I will take photos on my way out when I leave.

I was going to stay in Stewart but found cheaper camping in Hyder. There is only 3 km’s between the 2 towns. The internet sucks though so I don’t know if I will be able to update my blogs.

Total Km’s ridden since June 28 - 4,250 (I did not include the shuttle van from Yellowknife)
Total days riding a bike – 50
Total days living in a tent – 62

The difference in days in a tent compared to on a bike has to do with the few days I spent in hostels and my days off when I stop and sleep in my tent but am not riding my bike.

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Photos

Also The Closest I Have Been To A Bear
This bear was not afraid of me at all. We were actually riht across the highway from each other. Even had me a little nervous.

Entering Stewart
More photos of Stewart to come

A Stellar Jay
Quite a pretty bird.

A Stellar Jay
I had seen 2 pairs at the camp ground at the junction the night before. So this is the 5th one I have seen.

A Stellar Jay
I took a quick run to laundry room to check things out in case I got stuck here due to weather. When I got back he was on the picnic table making short work of my last bagel.